NBA Draft

I absolutely love the NBA Draft. It is one of my five favorite days of sports each year. Others: New Year's Day Bowl games, Bracket Day, the College World Series, and the Daytona 500. And Wrestlemania if you count that. Anyway, the draft is Thursday night and there seems to be a ton of misinformation as to which player will be selected where. Further muddling the picture are the crazy trade rumors involving Kobe, KG, The Matrix, etc. Anytime trade rumors involve guys you know by only their nicknames, they're big. And probably not true.

Clearly, Oden & Durant go one and two. And there's no way Portland or Seattle trade these picks unless Portland wants to take Durant second and get some sort of incentive to move down one spot. From there, the Atlanta Hawks take over at pick three, and it all hits the fan. No so-called "expert" has any clue what Atlanta will do, because the Hawks don't know what they'll do either. Not that anyone really cares.

All that being said, I'm only concerned about a few things: the Bobcats' draft, Tar Heels being drafted, and Hokies being drafted. In reverse order:

It is a big deal at Virginia Tech, my school of semi-employment, if any players off last year's squad are selected. That doesn't happen too much at this football-friendly school. Dell Curry is a former Hokies hoopster, but he has been the only impactful player from VT. Seniors Coleman Collins, Jamon Gordon, and Zabian Dowdell all have a chance to be selected. Of the bunch, Dowdell, in my opinion, has the best chance to be drafted fairly high, as he is a smart combo guard with great competitive fire. In the pros, he'd be a solid backup as a lefty who can score off the bench. Collins has had good workouts to offset a lackluster regular season campaign and Gordon's game is probably better suited for Europe at this point. Honestly, I'd argue on Gordon's behalf and think he will get a summer league tryout; however, those do not typically work out for the better.

The Tar Heels to be drafted include Brandan Wright and Reyshawn Terry. Wright will go in the top ten barring a draft night slide. Whoever drafts him had better be patient, as he will not make an impact in the next two seasons. Marvin Williams was much more polished when he left following the 2005 National Championship (I love saying that still) and he has not yet become a regular factor for Atlanta. I personally have little affinity for Wright's pro potential at this point and do not feel strongly tied to him given his very short, sometimes too laid-back, stay with Carolina last season. Wright was very good, don't get me wrong, but I feel safe saying that not too many people became too emotionally attached to him. Marvin certainly threw himself into the team and played with reckless abandonment at all times; Wright did not. As Rhino once said, in five year, ten years, twenty years, Brandan Wright will be but a blip on the radar in Carolina basketball history.

Reyshawn Terry, on the other hand, will not be a blip. In fact, he will be remembered forever through the coining of the term "pulling a Reyshawn"; that is, to commit a mental error in a game, then do something great, then commit another error, then do something great, rinse repeat. NBA teams love Reyshawn's athleticism (who wouldn't?) and feel his size and body style translates will for the pro game. I agree. But, if he ends up on a team that does not tolerate mental errors, he will be buried on the bench. One such rumor was the defending champion San Antonio Spurs (I love saying that as well). The Spurs would be much better off at the three-spot with Jared Dudley, a smart, savy frontcourt player, than the erratic Terry. All that being said, I'm pulling for Reyshawn and hope he ends up in a good situation. A very likeable dude.

Finally, the Bobcats, who are at the mercy of the five teams drafting directly in front of them. The Cats needs include a shooting guard and a center. But what they really need is a big-time scorer. A LeBron, Carmelo, D-Wade, Kobe, Pierce, Arenas type of player who fills the basket. More importantly, the Bobcats need a guy who can create his own shot (hopefully a good one) with time running down in a close game. No one on the team does that at this time.

Honestly, picking eighth, the Bobcats will not find that player. Unless they do the impossible and trade for Kevin Durant (Morrison, the #8, #22, Brevin Knight, and your mom anyone?), they will not fill that void in this draft. There are only a few guys who could even develop into that type of player a few years down the road, but Charlotte needs that type of guy to put them over the hump now. FYI - Rashard Lewis, free agent from Seattle, is NOT the answer. Do not get into a bidding war over him. DO NOT. Quality player for a 48 win team, but not a superstar.

So where does that leave the Bobcats? Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer are my preferences. There is a decent chance at least one of them is available at number eight. *Insert Stephen A Smith screaming, "HOW-EV-A..." right here: there is a chance the Bobcats could trade the pick. Rumor has it that Phoenix is trying to move one of its high-priced players in order to get to the lottery and take a Florida guy. Or, they could package Atlanta's unprotected first-rounder for next year with their #24 & #29 picks this year to move up. The Bobcats are a prime candidate to trade with for a few reasons. 1) If you cannot fill your need or have an offer that you feel is better than the "best available player", then trade out of the pick. 2) If you can fill your need directly with a trade for the pick, then clearly you make the trade. So what does that mean?

If Phoenix is willing to trade Leo Barbosa for this pick, I'd have to think about taking it. He's an exciting young scorer who could be a terrific piece of the puzzle with a re-signed Gerald Wallace. His defense is ok, his passing skills are great, and his scoring is perfect for the team. But, how well will he adjust to playing out of the Suns' frenetic system? No clue. That being said, I'm not sure he's the perfect fit at this point, especially given some of next year's free agents. Now, if the Bobcats were willing to trade down for two more late first-rounders and pick up Atlanta's pick next year, I'd be willing to listen. Next year's draft probably won't be as deep as this one, but a high pick would still have value. There is one major problem with this option: the Bobcats already have the #22 pick this year as well, which has been the source of trade rumors for a month. I personally could see the Phoenix deal going down, then the Bobcats using the two first rounders it acquired to trade back up in to the 13-14-15 range to take Nick Young or Rodney Stuckey. I love Nick Young's offensive game myself, especially after watching him tear up Carolina twice.

All that being said, I doubt such a scenario will unfold. In fact, all the rumors of trades and draft promises will be long forgotten come Friday morning following the draft. In the end, it's Brewer or Noah, then the opposite position at #22. For example, Brewer at #8 with Tiago Splitter, Shawn Williams, or Jason Smith at #22; Noah at #8 and Morris Almond at #22.

I'd take the latter of those two options right now and call it a day. High energy, hates-to-lose, new team mouthpiece at eight with a smart shooter at twenty-two. Love it. Of course, if Nick Young fell to #22, I'd take him as well. The more I think about it, Noah seems like a better fit than Brewer for what this team really needs. Brewer will be a good player for many years, but Noah would be some personality and energy to the team. It's about time we find someone to talk crap and piss opposing fans off; who better than the guy that's been doing it the last two years for the two-time defending National ChOmps?

Ok, if there's time, I'll post a draft before Thursday. Highly unlikely since I'll be gone to the ATL for a conference (and Braves game), but we'll see.

My lip gloss is poppin'...